Under a thousand stars
by GoldenHarlequin
Summary: Kili expected this other year at the University of Erebor to be rather uneventful. But this was before he notices a certain student with red hair. One-shot. College AU.
**Thank you for reading my story; I hope you will enjoy it. I thank also everyone who added it to their favorites.**

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Adjusting his bag on his shoulder, Kili headed towards the large building. He expected these first days at the University of Erebor to be nothing but rather uneventful, just like the previous years. He would be reunited with his friends and they would talk about how great or awful their summer jobs had been, about their travels if they went abroad, and all of them would agree that the vacations had been way too short.

He did not foresee nor expect the arrival of two new students.

He saw them for the first time during his English literature class. He was seated in the middle row –close enough to hear clearly, but far enough to not be caught sketching on his notes when the class was less interesting- like he was used to. The professor was not arrived yet, and the students were quietly discussing around him. Kili tuned them out, too busy drawing a landscape, when sudden and excited whispers reached hm. Lifting his head, his eyes fell on a tall and slim man with long blond hair tied at the nape of his neck. Almost rolling his eyes, he was ready to go back to his drawing, when he noticed the woman following her friend. She was beautiful, with freckles sprinkling her nose and cheeks. They both seated themselves at the front row.

Needless to say that Kili had never been so inattentive during a class, barely registering half of what their professor was saying. All his thoughts and attention were focused on the redhead. He did not catch her name or forename, and he could not help wondering where she came from. He had never seen her before, but the university was fairly huge. Was she from another department? Did she come from another university? Had she just arrived in town or was she an exchange student? As a true scientist, Fili's brother loved enigma and challenges, and he promised himself to solve that of a student with hair as vibrant as autumn leaves.

The occasion to know her better presented itself sooner than he had thought.

Next morning, entering the room of the gymnasium used only by students taking archery lessons, he caught a glimpse of red hair among the people who were already here. Turning his head, he spotted the young woman talking with her friend, both standing a bit apart of the group. Kili had only made a few steps in their direction, determined to completely ignore the blond next to her in order to have a few words with her, when he was stopped by the arrival of their teacher. He groaned internally. _Worst timing ever._

"Good morning everybody" the dark-haired man greeted. "For those among you who don't know me I am Mr. Bowman, your archery teacher. I am going to make sure that everyone is here, and after that I will explain what I am expecting from you and how the exam works. Then, we will begin."

Kili had planned to take the target next to that of Tauriel so he could have a chance at talking to her, but unfortunately the two students headed toward the targets at the end of the row, the blonde guy positioning himself in front of the second to last target, leaving Tauriel with him on her left and the wall on her right. The Durinson was a bit surprised, but not discouraged, and he managed to position himself not far from them. He smiled when he heard her friend calling her. At least he knew her name now, and next time he was going to speak to her, he would address her properly.

After several shots, Kili quickly realized that they were very talented archers, although he was almost on the same level. Each of their arrows hit the bullseye, and judging by the speed and accuracy of their movements, they could fire them at a steady pace. They were also somehow graceful and made it appear effortless, but being an archer himself, Kili knew better. It required a lot of focus and practice. Their teacher seemed to notice them too, because at the end of the class, he came to see them.

"I watched you during the class. I don't see such talented archers every day. You've been practicing archery for a long time?". It was more a statement than a question. Kili lingered, taking more time than necessary to gather and pack his gear. He was curious as to what they would answer, and he would take any information he could get on these two mysteries.

"Indeed, we practice archery since we are young children," the young woman answered.

"We participated in championships and earned prizes," her friend added. Kili fought the urge to roll his eyes or scoff while heading to the door. This blond with piercing blue eyes seemed to be a bit conceited.

"I see" Mr. Bowman said. "I don't know if it's the case, but if you don't want to be professional archers, I can only encourage you to not give up archery altogether. It would be a waste". The two students thanked him, and they exited the room.

Kili was lost in his daydream, when a disapproving noise from his brother and a tap on his arm sent him back to reality. Surprised, he looked at Fili who was not very pleased.

"You've been sitting here for almost ten minutes and your breakfast is still untouched. If you don't stop smiling like a fool and eat, I'm leaving you here."

"Hey, you agreed to drive me to the university today!" he said indignantly.

"Not if you make me late". Kili glared at him. "You were thinking about her, weren't you?" He had been talking about a student, a redhead, for days now. He had even asked him if he saw her or heard people talking about her.

"She is amazing, Fili" he replied with a smile.

"How would you know?"

"Well, she made very relevant and interesting comments in literature class and it is obviously something that interests her, then she's an amazing archer, and finally she's nice and absolutely gorgeous", he replied.

Fili sighed deeply. It appeared his brother had a huge crush on her.

"I got it, she's wonderful. But does she even know your name? Did you speak with her?"

He looked at him sheepishly and Fili resisted the urge to bury his face in his hand.

"Thought so."

"Don't worry, big brother," Kili assured, grinning. "It's only a matter of time." Fili knew this expression well, and it meant nothing but trouble.

Sure, speaking to her and getting to know her was a matter of time, but it was taking far too long for Kili's liking. Lately, it had been literally impossible to talk to her. Fili told him that it was a lost cause and that he should give up, because not only his name was unknown to her and maybe she hadn't even realized that they had a couple of classes together, but Kili also seemed to have a rival –Legolas Greenleaf. Indeed, when Kili and the young woman didn't miss each other and arrived at the same moment in class, her friend was following her like her shadow, making speaking alone with her impossible. Don't have it wrong, Fili wanted his brother to be happy, but he also wanted to prevent him from hurting because of false hopes. Nevertheless, Kili was far from deterred.

At their next archery class, he still wasn't next to the redhead –her bodyguard made sure of that- but he managed to shoot an arrow in her target, deflecting Legola's arrow. The student glared at him, furious, and asked him what got into him, but Kili ignored him completely. He had succeeded in catching the archer's attention, who now was looking at him with curiosity. Kili gave her a wide smile and she responded by smiling lightly. Legolas noticed the exchange, but when he glanced at her friend she had resumed shooting arrows like nothing had happened.

Next time they met, it was for once totally by chance. Kili had gone to the library of the university to find books for one of his assignments, when rounding a corner he almost ran into her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you" he said.

"That's nothing. I should be more careful" she replied with a light accent. He stood in front of her like a fool, not moving. It was the first time he saw her so closely and he took in every detail of her face: the freckles, the cute pointy nose, and the bright green eyes. She was also looking at him. She knew she had seen him before, and after some moments, she recognized him.

"You are in the archery class too, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," he confirmed, happy that his brother was proven wrong. She _did_ notice him.

"Your move last day was quite impressive. You are truly talented with a bow and arrows"

"Ah…thank you, that's nice of you. Actually you are amazing too" he said a bit shyly. She smiled at him.

"Thank you…?"

"Kili. I'm Kili"

"Thank you, Kili", she said, extending her hand. "My name is Tauriel". They shook hands.

"I know" he replied before he could stop himself. She arched an eyebrow.

"I heard Mr Bowman say your name," he explained quickly, not wanting her to believe he was some creepy dude who was stalking her –which would not be completely false. "We are also in the same literature class."

"Oh, I see. I study literature, but I haven't seen you in my other classes?"

"I could take one class from another department, and I chose literature. Otherwise, I am a student in physics."

"Really?" she inquired with genuine surprise "I don't hear that often".

"Yeah, unfortunately a lot of people seem to think that science and literature are two separate worlds that can't coexist, but I beg to differ. I think both are fascinating in themselves". He then noticed that one of the books she was holding in her arms was about astronomy, and more particularly about the constellations.

"You like stars?" he inquired, gesturing to the book. She looked down quickly to said book before turning her eyes to him.

"Yes! Stars have always fascinated me. I love watching them, but also understanding them, that's why I'm interested in astronomy" she replied enthusiastically.

"We have a common interest, then!" he smiled widely. They were talking about astronomy in the middle of the alley when the librarian came and told them to either stop talking and study, or to go outside.

"I have to go, anyway. I have a class that starts soon."

"No problem" he said, trying to hide his disappointment. He really enjoyed talking to her.

"It was nice to talk with you. See you later?" He felt joy run through his body at her words; she wanted to see him again.

"Yeah, sure."

Since the day they met at the library, they started to see more of each other and often met to talk. Kili learned that he had not seen her before at the university because she was a new student from Canada, with her friend Legolas. Kili had then asked her without much subtlety if the blonde archer was her boyfriend, since he seemed to always be with her and send murderous glares to every male student who tried to approach her. He was beyond happy when she assured him that it was not the case, that they were friends since childhood and that she considered him as a brother. _Too bad he didn't get the memo_ , the science student scoffed. She added that he tended to be overprotective and found that a bit annoying, but she knew he meant well. Kili then told her about his brother Fili, their fiery mother Dis and their equally stormy, if not more, uncle Thorin.

That day, they had decided to go to a coffee shop after their classes. It was the beginning of December, and when they sat with their hot drink in their hands, they gladly welcome the warm it provided.

"I was wondering…" Kili began, catching the attention of his friend. "In a few weeks there will be a meteor shower, which apparently will be quite spectacular, and…I wondered if…if you would like to watch it…with me" he asked nervously. She said nothing for a moment, and he looked down, unwilling to see the look of disapproval that she certainly had. "I-I know that the weather is not very ideal, but since we both like stars and all…or maybe you don't want to go with me. Well, in that case that-that's fine…I-I just wanted to tell you…" He stopped when she put her hand on his arm and he looked at her, swallowing with difficulty. His worry and fear were pointless, for she had a broad smile and her eyes were twinkling in glee.

"I would love that!"

On the day of the meteor shower, Kili picked her up after class, just like they had agreed, and drove to the place he knew where they could see the meteor shower clearly and without being disturbed. When they arrived, Tauriel found that indeed the place was quiet and perfect to see the celestial event, no lights from the town being there to prevent them from seeing it. Although they dressed warmly, Kili had brought with him blankets, and she smiled at him for his thoughtfulness and kindness as he put one on her shoulders. They seated themselves on the hood of the car, and talked quietly as they waited for the meteor shower to start. She informed him that Legolas had not been very happy when he learned that she was going with Kili, but she had replied that she was an adult and that could take care of herself. Kili was about to answer, when Tauriel pointed suddenly at the sky.

"Look, it has begun!" she said enthusiastically.

A streak of bright light ran through the night, illuminating it. Shortly after, many followed, and the two friends watched in awe as the celestial bodies chased each other, looking like pieces of diamonds falling from the sky. Kili had been right, it was truly magical.

She was looking at the sky, her eyes full of wonder and happiness, when her friend spoke softly.

"You know, it is said that making a wish while watching a meteor shower will make it come true". She turned to him, a peaceful smile on her lips, and he looked at her. She was such an extraordinary woman, and so beautiful. Without thinking, he gently cupped her face and closed the gap between them, kissing her. When he realized what he had done, he quickly pulled back, afraid at the thought of having ruined the moment. But Tauriel was not angry at him, she was smiling.

"Mine has just come true"

At her words, his heart filled with joy, and they kissed under the stars.


End file.
